Last week, USAID conducted its final business forecast call under the Biden Administration. There are $27.7 billion worth of opportunities in the agency’s pipeline — and we’ve got the breakdown below.
Also in this edition: A boost for American small businesses, Australia’s aid agency does the rounds, and a decade of aid in Syria.
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USAID unveils a $27.7 billion forecast
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USAID has held its last business forecast call under the Biden administration — and its first for fiscal year 2025. The forecast includes 190 contract opportunities worth $27.7 billion, marking a shift toward fewer but higher-value contracts compared to previous years.
Procurement methods vary, with stand-alone contracts, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (also referred to as IDIQ) awards, and cooperative agreements accounting for much of the pipeline. As always, the forecast remains provisional, with possible adjustments to solicitation and award timelines — but most solicitations are expected in the first half of the year. In contrast, contract awards will primarily occur in the latter.
NextGen, USAID’s suite of supply chain contracts, accounted for more than one-third of the total forecasted amount, my colleague Miguel Antonio Tamonan tells me, and 108 opportunities worth $24.6 billion were also included in the previous quarter. Still, the forecast did include 80 new contracts worth $3 billion, $2.4 billion of which will be procured by USAID missions.
Read: Inside the Biden administration’s $27.7 billion final business forecast (Pro)
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Funding activity
We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of the ones that have been viewed the most in the past 10 days.
The Asian Development Bank has approved a $200 million loan to modernize power distribution infrastructure and improve electricity distribution in Pakistan.
The European Union has launched a €4 million ($4.2 million) program to end female genital mutilation in Kenya.
The Inter-American Development Bank and the Green Climate Fund will provide $47 million to boost electric and inclusive mobility and resilience in Panama.
The United Nations is seeking a consulting firm to organize an international High-Level Business Forum in Ethiopia.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a $20 million grant to address gaps in HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in Central America.
The World Bank is seeking a consultancy firm to assist in developing a Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Roadmap in Indonesia.
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In with the old, out with the new
With the last business forecast of a USAID under Biden in the books, all eyes are turned toward Donald Trump’s return to the White House — and the global development world is bracing for change. But George Price, the director of the small business division at the U.S. Department of State, doesn’t seem flustered. Speaking from a Washington, D.C., stage on Tuesday, Price told international development companies that “things aren’t going to go as fast as a lot of people think” they will.
“There may be a slowdown in spending, there may be a reduction in that spending, but it’s not going away,” said Price, who spoke at a conference hosted by the Professional Services Council, which represents some 400 contractors working with the U.S. government.
He did expect three immediate changes. First, Price said he expects government agencies to go through a hiring freeze. Second, he believes a contractor review process will go into place “almost immediately, if not on day one” of the second Trump administration. And third, he expects changes in the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that have been active over the last four years, he said.
“But you’re not going to see … the entire government folding up shop and stopping spending,” Price said.
That’s especially true for small businesses, added Kimberly Ball, Price’s counterpart at USAID.
“Small businesses are popular on both sides of the aisle, so I don’t think the opportunities for small businesses are going away,” Ball said. “I would love to see them increase, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure … that happens.”
Read: Small businesses and new partners on the rise at USAID (Pro)
An offer from Down Under
Speaking of new business: Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, or DFAT, is making the rounds in Washington, D.C., this week, speaking at both the Professional Services Council annual conference last Tuesday and USAID’s business forecast last Wednesday.
DFAT delivers about $3.2 billion in official development assistance each year, DFAT’s acting assistant secretary Matt Harding explained on the business forecast call, though the projected estimate for 2027 to 2028 will be closer to $3.5 billion. The core of those programs are centered on the Pacific and Southeast Asia and revolve around four main policy priorities: Locally led development; engagement of Australian-first nations; gender equality, disability, and social inclusion; and climate change.
“Our ODA funding is a relatively stable and certain funding source,” said Harding, speaking in the briefing call. “And we have quite flexible, by global standards, arrangements for contracts.”
Vas Withanage, the director of DFAT’s Development Partners Engagement Section, added that the agency’s tenders are untied — meaning no preference is given to Australian companies bidding for DFAT money.
“Anyone is welcome to bid, and we encourage anyone to bid if they believe they can deliver the program,” Withanage said.
Bids can be submitted through AusTender, the Australian federal government’s procurement information system.
A decade of aid in Syria
Nearly 6,000 miles from Washington, Syria is undergoing change of its own. Opposition forces took over the country’s capital — and booted out President Bashar al-Assad — earlier this month, plunging Syria into a new chapter that seems both hopeful and uncertain. But it also follows more than a decade of conflict, with the ongoing war in Syria leaving over 15 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
“The conflict has consumed tens of billions of dollars in aid,” writes my colleague Alecsondra Kieren Si, adding that funding has flowed through two major funding initiatives: The United Nations’ Syrian Humanitarian Response Plan, which has been primarily within Syria, and the Regional Refugee Response Plan, which aims to assist nations housing the most Syrian refugees.
On the Humanitarian Response Plan side, the United Nations received $25.1 billion during the last decade — just over half of what it had targeted to reach all Syrians in need.
Read: A look into a decade of aid for Syria (Pro)
ICYMI: UN charts Syria aid course in nation run by terrorists
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About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
